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THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE VERY UGLYDec 31 '06 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line As 2006 draws to a close I look at my 18 or so months at epinions. I found myself here by accident. I was mad at the countless amazon reviews bestowing praise upon praise (when intelligible) on “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, an outright trash of commercial authorship. I looked for another place to post my review of this inconsequential book. I ended here. I thought it was a haphazard collection of opinions submitted by ad hoc contributors. I discovered a proper community with regular inhabitants, hierarchy and, of course, unwritten laws. The common denominator was love for writing. I liked it and stuck. To share with anyone who’s interested, here’s my assessment of it so far: Disclaimer: Sergio, I know I imitated your movie’s title, so before Stephen gets mad, say you’re flattered! THE GOOD -Polyphony: a wide variety of “subjects” to read on, and many dissenting voices on each. Epinions may have started out as a products/services review site –and it of course still offers those- but it is a broader “Reader’s Digest” vehicle. Members’ messages to the community often surprise one most pleasantly with their topic and W/Os are tremendous fun. -Comments: often these are more enjoyable to follow than reading the actual review. Unquestionably revealing as well. The person becomes exposed far more than his/her formal submissions let show. This certainly holds true for yours truly. As I never post a comment just for the sake of PR, my (many, I must admit) comments show who I am more than my (meager) reviews. -Friends: as in all communities one makes friends here too. The difference is that epinions is populated by a surprising number of highly cultured people. If Iraklitos was right when he said “Your friends are your fortune”, then the friends you make here make you a very rich man indeed. -The “Pens”: all members here are writers; but some are more equal than others. Some members I encountered in the topics I habitually read about wield a truly mighty sword. In alphabetical order here are those whose penmanship often makes me throw away my drafts in disgust: macresarf1 : Alex is a veritable gentleman who writes mostly about books and movies -but how! Even his simplest review is an essay on the subject, complete with notes on info you never knew existed! And in his actual essays –political as likely as not- he shines with his prowess in both insight and delivery. Keep going my friend. Stephen Murray : possibly the epinions Doyen in books (sadly until recently –or is all forgiven?...), movies and classical music. Stephen’s prose is informative yet remarkably economical, even staccato! It should be, for him to be the utterly prolific contributor he is – 1300+ reviews in 6 and a half years! Vicfar : Vittorio is an oddity insofar as he is not North-America born. He is the quintessential cosmopolitan, possessing a remarkable worldview. This is reflected in his submissions as he writes on, well, most everything! Irrespective of the subject, the joy of reading Vicfar derives not only from his mastery of English but also from his outspoken-ness! voxpoptart : Brian is just about the “freshest” writer you will encounter; his pieces brim with spontaneous humour sprinkling each phrase with totally unexpected wit! He contributes (or did, lately he’s been scarce, no doubt due to having become a proud father) mostly in music, movies and books. If you’re not reading him, you’re missing something. -The “Worthy”: forget “Hats” and plebes – that will only confuse you. What makes epinions good is a bunch of people who are genuinely worthy irrespective of formal recognition or frequency of submissions. Here’s an alphabetical list of some, again in categories I mostly read: asafono : knowledgeable and serious. I wish he’d write more. Bruguru : I’m only a social drinker, otherwise I’d read more of John’s excellent stuff. dandj : the day Danielle decides to apply her reviewing skills to non-children’s books the site will become instantly richer. Dianapinions : truly helpful reviews on many truly helpful products. Don_Krider : every single one of his submissions is a labour of love. Read and fall in love with music again. garym : an American living abroad, Gary is a football expert and a rare human being. dr.p : the gentleman knows all about guitars and amps, and writes deep. gaviidae : Gavia, although sometimes sounding like a neocon, is in reality a caring human being. George_Chabot : thank you George for your love of history and the unique reviews it leads you to. Gr8ful : dead serious reviews on electronics and music that are fun to read. Howard_Creech : another amazing contributor whose every camera review puts to shame the alleged pros. johngo : John doesn’t write much of late but his subject –book reviews- makes timeless reading. millinocket : in a category where every Tom, Dick and Harriet thinks s/he ought to post, Sue’s movie reviews show how it should be done. mrkstvns : a veritable globe-trotter bringing us star reviews on places and food, but also Latin music. Pavel21 : not writing a lot lately, but still one of the better film critics. plorentz : mostly music reviews that overflow into eloquent musings. popsrocks : need info on places, food, music and books? You can’t go wrong with Phil, also an authentically good guy. proxam : a Brit who thinks outside the box and writes to match. smorg : an amazing thesaurus on opera music, and again a top guy. My sincere apologies to those this spur-of-the moment piece leaves out. To err is human, and there’s always the comments section! THE BAD -Rubber stamping: don’t deny it guys and dolls, it goes on. And it ain’t nice. Just know that this here member stamps your review only if he has read it. If everyone followed this, the value attached to each review would have been representative. And, consequently, its helpfulness to each punter entering the site looking for advice would have been bona fide. -“Old boy” circuit: and “Old girl”, for that matter; once a member makes it to the establishment the other ol’ boys ‘n’ girls see no evil, hear none, and speak naught. Never mind the act, or lack of it thereof, like hats maintaining their shades even if they have ceased effectively contributing. The recent holiday sweepstakes is another reprehensible example. Now being a lowly member these practices do not affect me. But I speak in the spirit of Liberte, Fraternite and Egalite, which I think is the right of everyone, even outsiders. Favouritism has got to go, before the community sees members like Stephen leaving entirely (Krus54 is another example that comes to mind). -Hidden WOTs, Block Lists and Raters: an unqualified disgrace. These “rights” should be abolished immediately. Hiding behind a computer monitor and a nickname is bad enough, albeit a necessary evil. But if you ain’t man or woman enough to stand by your position you should have no right to voice one. That’s just about it so far as I’m concerned, though maybe if I start posting a lot I will face other ills heavy contributors fume about, like the search function. THE VERY UGLY -The disgraceful war between Alexanderaku -an otherwise respectable contributor- and Brad, over whether PCs or Macs are better. I even got caught up in it for a time, before I realised those two probably have a hidden agenda. It is nigh impossible to be so devoted to a machine that you’re willing to lower yourself to the level of a street brawl to defend it. Be that as it may, one wonders what the epinions powers that be are doing when two members indulge in a lengthy exchange of dishonorable language. Freedom of speech? Oh, c’mon! Why was Simmans ousted? -daquan. Who? Well, the spiteful member who didn’t like my low rating –complete with an explanatory comment- of a largely shallow review of hers. What piqued her was the fact I only had a handful of reviews against her more than 200. In her peculiar logic this difference did not entitle me to assess her piece. So she proceeded to blast me in the comments section and NH-ed my reviews wholesale. Pitiful. Want to have fun? Here’s the URL: http://www.epinions.com/content_249591926404/show_~allcom -My still having not learned to use links (I know it’s all there Mobiprof!). This would have spiced up this no end. Oh, well… That about sums it up. It’s been a good stay overall, and I look forward to many more enriching hours at epinions. I wish all members (you too daquan :o) all that’s best for 2007. Sincerely. -Vasilis a.k.a. the outsider  |
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